Validità ed efficacia della deliberazione elettronica : l'uso di LiquidFeedback nel Partito pirata italiano

We are currently experiencing a phase of intense technological development whereby it is easy to take a fideistic attitude and elevate technology as the generalised solution of the problems of our time. But is this trust well placed? Here we present the results of an ethnographic study carried out in a community that makes extensive use of e-deliberation through the artefact LiquidFeedback. The questions we here try to answer are the following: is it possible to conceive information technology as a tool to facilitate democratic processes? Is it possible for citizens to elaborate legal proposals that can actually become law through computer technology and procedures? More precisely: are technologies able to support deliberative practices by institutionalizing equal participation and free discussion procedures in order to legitimize the decisions taken? [Publisher's Text].